Amorphous SiGe:H photodetectors on glass optical waveguides

Abstract

Amorphous SiGe:H thin-film photodetectors integrated with ion-exchanged optical waveguides on glass are discussed. The lateral coupling between single-mode waveguide and detector is provided via an intermediate indium-tin-oxide transparent electrode located above the waveguide, followed by a p-i-n photodetector. The optical coupling between waveguide and detector depends strongly on the polarization of the incoming optical mode in the waveguide. Using a random optical bitstream in the waveguide, the detector, which is not yet optimized, responds to signals up to about 20 Mb/s NRZ (nonreturn-to-zero).